A Broken Heart Never Fails to Heal
by Dragon's Fury 90999
Summary: Rin passes away due to illness and there's no one to take her place as Horse and Haru is of course brokenhearted. But when Tohru's cousin comes to live with her, many things are discovered. But what's her connection to Akito? HaruX?
1. Chapter 1

A Broken Heart Never Fails to Heal

Another Fruits Basket FanFic

By: realixweatherfairy

Disclaimer: I only own what I created.

Chapter 1: A New Friend

Tohru Honda was waiting at an airport terminal. She was waiting for her cousin's airplane to arrive. Her cousin, Tsukiko, was coming to Japan to go to high school. Tsukiko's mother had passed away at about the same time as Tohru's and her father had become a drunk, who was Tohru's dad's, Katsuya Honda, older brother, and he had started to beat her, so their grandfather filed for custody of Tsukiko and won, but her grandfather didn't have any room at his house, so Tohru asked Shigure if it was all right if Tsukiko came to live them. He said he didn't mind, but they would have to share a room.

Then it was announced that the plane from Cleveland, Ohio had arrived and landed. Tsukiko and her parents had live in Cleveland since Tsukiko was really little. She and Tohru had only met once, and they were both too little to remember at the time. Tsukiko was only a year younger then Tohru. Tohru held up a sign that had Tsukiko's name on it. When the people came off the plane, a young girl of about 15 or 16, with long black hair that came down to about the middle of her calf and big sapphire eyes like Tohru's appeared. She saw Tohru and asked, "Tohru Honda?"

"Yes. You're my cousin, Tsukiko, right?" Tohru asked, and when she nodded, "Welcome to Japan! You're going to stay with me at a friend's house." She led her cousin to the Sohmas who were standing just outside the gate waiting for them. "Yuki-kun, Kyo-kun, and Shigure-san, this is my cousin, Tsukiko Honda. Tsukiko, this is Yuki Sohma-kun, and his cousins, Kyo and Shigure Sohma."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Tsukiko said, "I hear from my grandfather that you did my cousin a great kindness, I thank you for that."

"It was no trouble, and welcome to Japan, Tsukiko-san," Yuki said. He was taken aback that Tsukiko knew about that. It had been about a year before that Yuki and Shigure had found out the Tohru was staying in a tent and offered her a home.

At his shock, she said, "My grandfather called me on the plane and told me just about everything he knew about Tohru, so that I might recognize her when the plane got in to the airport."

"Grandpa did that?" Tohru said.

"Well, I haven't seen you since we were really young, so I wouldn't have recognized you when I got here, Tohru," Tsukiko said, and Tohru smiled, "If you don't mind, I have to go find my luggage." She then walked towards the luggage rack with Tohru.

"We'll have to be careful, you two, to make sure that she doesn't find out," Shigure said,

"We know," Yuki said, "You told us how many times now?"

"Just making sure," Shigure said.

Later, they were all at Shigure's house, helping Tsukiko take her things up to Tohru's room. She seemed really embarrassed and said, "You guys don't have to help."

"Just as humble as her cousin," Yuki said, "Tsukiko-san, we don't mind helping you."

"Thank you, Yuki-kun," Tsukiko said, smiling. He liked her, but as a friend.

The next day was Tsukiko's first day of school. As she was a year younger then Tohru and the others, she was in the freshman class.

"You're in the same class as our cousin, Hatsuharu," Yuki said.

"Really?" Tsukiko said.

"Yeah," Yuki said, smiling, "He's a good kid."

"Oh, okay," Tsukiko said, letting her teacher lead her to the classroom. When they got there, the teacher introduced her to the class.

"Children, we have a new member of our class. Her name is Tsukiko Honda, and in case you're wondering, yes, she is Tohru Honda's cousin. She just recently moved here from Cleveland, Ohio in America," the teacher said. Everyone was looking up at her with questioning eyes. All the guys had hearts in their eyes, all except one. He had white hair and dark eyes. He was mainly just staring out the window. "You may take the seat next Hatsuharu Sohma. Hatsuharu-san, please raise your hand." The boy with white hair raised his hand and Tsukiko went to the seat next to him, while he put his hand down, and sat down.

"So, you're Honda-san's cousin," he said.

"Uh, yes, I'm Tsukiko Honda, nice to meet you," she said.

"Nice to meet you, too. I'm Hatsuharu Sohma," he said. Then the boy that sat behind her poked her in the back. She turned and she said, "Hi. Tsukiko Honda. It's nice to meet you."

"Hi. I'm Momiji Sohma. I'm Haru's cousin," he said, "It's nice to meet you, too."

"There must be a lot of people in the Sohma family," Tsukiko thought. Then after school, Haru, Momiji, Tsukiko, Tohru, Kyo, and Yuki met up and walked home.

"So, Tsukiko, how do you like Japan so far?" Momiji asked.

"It's really an amazing place. There are some places that I recognize but I don't exactly remember, because I haven't been here since I was really little," Tsukiko said, "I was barely a few months old when I first met Tohru and soon after that my parents and I moved to Cleveland."

"Wow. It must have been really hard for you to move here and leave everything that you knew behind, huh?" Momiji said.

Tsukiko looked sad and said, "Not really."

"Huh? Don't you miss your parents?" Haru asked.

"My mom died not long after Tohru's mom and my dad hasn't exactly been the nicest person on the block after she died," Tsukiko said looking down. She looked like she was going to cry.

"That's why she came here to live. Our grandfather found out what his oldest son was doing and filed for custody of his second oldest grandchild," Tohru said, putting her arm around Tsukiko's shoulders.

"Tsukiko-san, doesn't your name mean "moon child"?" Yuki asked.

"Yes, my mom, Takara Honda, named me that because I was born on a night of the full moon," Tsukiko said. She seemed to be cheering up a little. "I've never actually had a real friend before."

"Huh?" was all that came out of their mouths.

"Because of my dad. He was so controlling and wanted to control every aspect of my life," Tsukiko continued, "Before mom died, he was a really great dad. He used to play with me, talk to me like I was human, but after he started drinking and he changed. The other side of him that he hid from me and mom showed it self. I didn't want anyone to get hurt because of him."

"What do you mean "other side of him"?" Yuki asked.

"His other personality, the one that I've dubbed, "Black Dad" because his temper is really evil," Tsukiko said, "I have it too, but it only really shows itself when Dad is around."

"So, even you get really angry, huh, Tsukiko-chan," Tohru said, with a small smile.

"Yeah," she said with a small voice, "but that was in the past. I'm moving on and things are definitely getting better." She smiled brightly. Yuki, Haru, and Momiji all noticed how beautiful she was when she smiled.

"Tsukiko-chan," said a voice. Tsukiko turned and had a shocked look on her face. She saw a woman in her mid-30's, wearing jeans and a blue t-shirt. She had long red hair that came down to her waist and green eyes the color of grass. She was tall and thin.

"Ayaka-sensei," Tsukiko said.

"Tsukiko-chan, who is this? Do you know her?" Tohru asked.

"Yes, Tohru. She's the one who taught how to fight. In various ways," Tsukiko answered.

"I see you're doing well, Tsukiko-chan," Ayaka said.

"How are you doing, Sensei?" Tsukiko asked.

"Just fine. I heard that your grandfather got custody of you and that you now live in Japan, so I thought that I might see how you were doing," Ayaka said, "and to see if you had kept up in your training," pulling out a pair of silver sais and Tsukiko did the same. They started fighting and it looked like Ayaka was going to win but Tsukiko had been able to get the upper hand and disarm Ayaka.

"I see that you kept up with your training, Tsukiko-chan, I'm proud of you," Ayaka said bowing and walking away. Tsukiko just stood there and stared after her.

"Tsukiko-chan," Tohru said.

"Hmmm," she said, turning around with a smile on her face. They could all see that she looked really happy. Later after Momiji and Haru had gone back to the Main Sohma house, when Yuki, Kyo, Shigure, Tohru, and Tsukiko walked into Shigure's house, they found a scene of mayhem. Then suddenly an earthquake caused Tsukiko to fall into Yuki causing him to transform into a rat. She didn't notice because she hit her head on the edge of a table, knocking herself out. When she woke up, she saw that Yuki was still in his rat form talking to Shigure, and another guy. She almost fainted again.

"Tohru-san, what's going on?" Tsukiko asked, making Tohru and the others jump. They looked at her, shocked that she had woken.

"I guess we'll have to tell her," Shigure said, "Tsukiko-kun, the Sohma family is cursed. When ever we get hugged by a member of the opposite gender or our bodies become weak, we transform into one of the animals from the Chinese Zodiac."

"This is so much to take in at one time," Tsukiko said. She was shocked but it did explain why some things had been on. "but it does explain some things."

"I'm sorry, but your cousin, Tohru, is actually the only person on the "outside" of the family to know about our curse," Yuki said still in his rat form, "When others usually find out about the curse, we normally have to have their memories erased."

"I think not," Tsukiko said, calmly, "I don't think I want my memories erased, thank you very much."

"If you promise to keep the secret, like your cousin did, I don't think we will have a problem," the other guy said.

"I promise that my lips are sealed," Tsukiko said, doing the old lock and key on her mouth. (locking her mouth shut with a lock and throwing away the key)

"Okay, by the way, I am Hatori Sohma," he said.

"Pleased to meet you. I am Tsukiko Honda," she said with a smile.

"It's nice to meet you too. Well, Shigure, I have to go now, later," Hatori said., walking out the door. As he was walking, he thought, "She's seems so familiar. She's seems to be like her cousin, but there's something else that's familiar about her."

The next day, Yuki, Tsukiko, and Tohru met up with Haru and Momiji on their way to school. Tsukiko was still a little shocked from what she learned the night before.

"Tsukiko-san, I heard that you learned of the curse," Haru said, quietly.

"Yes, I'm still a little shocked, but that doesn't change the way I look at you guys," Tsukiko answered, "You're still my friends, no matter what," smiling.

"Good," Haru said and smiled back, and thought, "I don't know why but there's something about her that draws people to her, just like her cousin but it's something different." When they got to school, Tsukiko and Tohru found Tohru's best friends, Uo-chan also known as Arisa Uotani and Hana-chan also known as Saki Hanajima.

"Uo-chan and Hana-chan, this Tsukiko Honda-san, she is my cousin," Tohru said.

"It's nice to meet you," Tsukiko said.

"It's a pleasure," they said together.

After they all went to class, something went wrong. Tsukiko noticed that Haru was a little agitated about something and it seemed to eat away at him. She was about to say something to him, when he started acting really weird.

"Haru-kun?" Tsukiko said, frightened. He looked at her with anger in his eyes. This was a side of him that she had never seen before. It scared her. Then their eyes met, and they both just looked at each other. Then the teacher came and dragged her out of the room, making Haru even angrier. He started tearing up the class room.

As the teacher pulled her out of the room, she said, "Let go of me! Haru-kun needs me!"

"He's dangerous right now. If you go in there, you'll get hurt," he said.

"Fine, then, but don't expect me to just stand here and do nothing. Momiji-kun, come with me," she said, running down the hall to Yuki and Tohru's class.

"Tohru, Yuki, Kyo! It's terrible!" Momiji yelled as he got in the classroom with Tsukiko following.

"Where's Yuki?" Tsukiko asked.

"I'm right here. I was doing class officer duties," he said, appearing behind her, making her jump, "Is everything okay? Are they letting you out early?"

"No, Haru-kun is, well, I don't know how to say it, he's acting strangely violent," Tsukiko said.

"Yeah, he went Black and he's tearing the classroom apart," Momiji said. At that, Yuki, Kyo, Tohru, Momiji, and Tsukiko went back their classroom and went in.

"Haru! What are you doing?" Yuki asked.

"Tearing the place apart. What does it look like?" he said, anger apparent in his voice.

"He really tore the place up, didn't he?" Momiji said, while Tohru and Tsukiko who were hidden from view.

"Haru, you can't be so violent at school," Yuki said.

"You're such a worrier, Princess Yuki," Black Haru said, "You just don't want me to transform while I'm on the rampage."

"No, that's not all," Yuki said.

Tsukiko had had enough, she stepped out from behind Yuki, and glared at Haru and said, "Haru-kun, I don't know what made you so angry, but that is enough!"

"You wanna fight," he said, glaring at her in return.

"No, I'm just getting pissed off," she said, her eyes going totally black.

"Calm down, Tsukiko-chan," Tohru said. After Tohru said that, Tsukiko's eyes returned to normal. She then realized what had happened and looked really scared. She started to run out of the room, but Haru grabbed her arm and threw her out of the classroom window over the pavement and she was now clinging to the ledge. She screamed and was slipping. Kyo, Momiji, and Yuki ran to the window to help her up but before they got to her, she fell, screaming. Her screaming made Haru snap back out of it and run to the window himself, only to see that she was unconscious on the pavement below the window, but suddenly with a poof she turned into a white horse.

When they all got down to the ground, and went outside, she was gone. Apparently, while they were running down the stairs, she had woken up and run off. Meanwhile back at Shigure's house, Tsukiko was up in her and Tohru's room, putting on clothes. Shigure was downstairs, not knowing that she was home. She knew that she would have to go down and tell Shigure that she was home. She was wearing a sparkly lavender halter top and a white skirt like the one that she and Tohru wore in their uniform. She then heard voices downstairs and knew who they belonged to. Her cousin and friends were there and they were talking to Shigure. Then the bedroom door opened and Tohru walked in her eyes wide, with worry and fear.

"There you are, Tsukiko-chan! What happened to you? Everyone's been so worried, especially Hatsuharu-san!" Tohru said, "Come on! Everyone's waiting downstairs!"

"I don't wanna go, Tohru-chan," Tsukiko said.

"Why not?" she asked.

"I just can't face them right now," Tsukiko answered.

"Don't worry. They're not mad at you, if that's what you're worried about," Tohru said, taking her cousin's hand and leading her down the stairs and into the living room, where Haru, Yuki, Momiji, Kyo, Shigure, and Hatori were all sitting.

"Tsukiko-kun, I didn't even know that you were home," Shigure said.

"Tsukiko-san, why did you transform into a horse?" Yuki asked.

"I don't even know the answer to that question, Yuki-kun," Tsukiko answered.

"I think I might know," Hatori said.

"Huh?" Tsukiko asked.

"Isuzu Sohma, the Sohma possessed by the spirit of the Horse, passed away due to illness, a few months ago," Hatori said, "She must have somehow transferred the spirit to the one person who could do what she couldn't. I don't know how that was or what it was, but now you are the Horse of the Chinese Zodiac."

"But I thought the curse was passed down from Sohma to Sohma," Haru said.

"After Honda-kun found out about the curse, Shigure and I have doing some research on our family," Hatori answered, "and in the North Tower of the Main Sohma House, there is a magical tapestry that shows that Sohma family tree. Long ago, when the family was first formed, there were two brothers and accordingly to legend, the eldest would inherit the curse and the other would not. The uncursed Sohma brother and his family disappeared and were never heard from again, but the tapestry records members of both sides of the family when they are born and at the end of the other side of the family tree, the most recent names on it are Tsukiko and Tohru Honda."


	2. Chapter 2

A Broken Heart Never Fails to Heal

A Fruits Basket FanFic

By realixweatherfairy

Disclaimer: I only own what I created

Chapter 2: The Secret and The Head

"What?!" Tsukiko yelled.

"It's true, Tsukiko-kun. You and any other person related to you is distantly related to us," Shigure said.

"That's means dad, too, and your dad, Tohru-chan," Tsukiko said, "We're actually related to them through our fathers!"

"What do you mean by that?" Shigure said confused.

"Tohru is my paternal cousin. Her father, Katsuya Honda, was my father's little brother," Tsukiko said, "My dad really didn't like Oij Katsuya-san. He was jealous of him and he didn't particularly care for Oba Kyoko-san. That's why he moved our family out to Cleveland. He didn't want me to be associated with Tohru because he thought that she might out do me as well, which is of course ridiculous."

"But that doesn't explain how Tsukiko ended up being possessed by the spirit of the Horse," Momiji said.

"Not even I can really explain that. Maybe Akito will know," Hatori said, "I will go talk to him," and walked out of the living room and out the door. A second later there was the sound of a car engine and wheels pulling out of the driveway.

"I think I need to be alone for a while," Tsukiko said, not waiting for an answer and got up and walked up the stairs and into her room and threw herself on her bed. "Me? A Sohma? It can't be true!" she thought as she fell asleep.

Meanwhile, at the Main House, Hatori walked into Akito's room.

"You have news, Hatori," Akito said.

"Yes, Akito-san. There is a new Horse. Her name is Tsukiko Honda," he answered.

"But how can…Ah of course. She is our distant relative, but that doesn't explain it," Akito said, "I want to meet her."

"Yes, Akito-san, but I think she might be asleep by now. Haru went Black at school and threw her out of the window, and caused her to transform, luckily no one saw what happened, and she was able to get back to Shigure's house without anyone noticing, not even Shigure," he answered.

"Since tomorrow is Saturday, I will go then," Akito said, with a snicker.

Haru stayed the night at Shigure's house. He wanted to apologize and explain what happened at school. He felt awful that he had thrown Tsukiko out of the school window. The next morning at breakfast when Tsukiko came down stairs, Haru was the only one sitting in the dining room.

"Tsukiko, I'm sorry about yesterday. You, see, when I get really aggravated or angry about something, I become an unstoppable juggernaut, which my relatives have dubbed "Black Haru"," Haru said, "I'm so sorry." He had been looking down and when he finally looked up at her, he saw that Tsukiko was being very understanding.

"Its okay, Haru-kun. But what caused you to snap like that?" she said.

"Isuzu, or Rin as we called her, and I were going out when she became seriously ill and she passed away. I was thinking about it and I got really upset," Haru said.

"Well, if somebody I really cared about got sick and passed away, I'd get upset, too," Tsukiko said, "Oh, by the way, you would've had my forgiveness the minute you asked and you're still my friend." She smiled and he smiled for the first time that day. Then the door bell rang. "I wonder who that could be. I better go see," Tsukiko said, getting up and heading to the door, only to find Shigure already opening the door and was shocked to see someone that she had somehow seen before.

"Akito, how nice to see you out and about," Shigure said.

"Good day, Shigure. I came to meet Tsukiko Honda-san," he said.

"Tsukiko-kun, huh? I'll go see if I can find her," Shigure said, turning around and jumping when he saw Tsukiko standing behind him. "Tsukiko-kun! I didn't know that you were awake."

"I was in the dining room, talking to Haru-kun," Tsukiko said, "He wanted to apologize to me about what happened yesterday. I told him to not worry about it. I've been through worse. It's nice to meet Akito Sohma-sama. I am Tsukiko Honda."

"Hmm," was all that came out of Akito's mouth at first, "It's nice to meet you. I hear that you are the new Horse of the Zodiac. How long have you been this way?"

"I don't know," she answered.

"You look so familiar. You look like someone I used to know," he said. It was then that she knew where she had seen Akito before. Her mother had had a picture of a child of an old friend of hers on her bedside table.

"I think you might have known my mother," Tsukiko said.

"Your mother? What was her name?" he asked, scoffing as if he didn't care.

"Her name was Takara Kaya Kimaguri," Tsukiko said, "She used to live somewhere around here when she was young. She used to tell me about her friend's child that she had spent a lot of time with before she met and married my father. She told me his name but I can't remember what it was."

Akito smiled. He knew who Tsukiko was talking about. Takara Kimaguri had been his mom's best friend while he grew up and had been more of a mother to him. Even though she was his mother's friend, but she always made time to see him. She had even stood up for him against his mother and for that he felt that he owed her a life debt.

"That was me. Your mother was my mom's best friend when I was young," Akito said, walking out of the house, leaving Shigure and Tsukiko speechless. They were knocked out of their reverie by Kyo, bounding down the stairs.

"Morning, Kyo-kun," Tsukiko said.

"Yo," he said, heading to the kitchen. Tsukiko went to follow him but was stopped by a man who had brown hair and green eyes. He was tall and thin, but muscular. He had grabbed her arm and thrown her at the wall in between the living room and the dining room, making her crash through it and land on the dining table in front of Haru.

"Tsukiko-kun? What the….?" He said, looking through the hole that had been left by Tsukiko crashing through, and seeing the man. He was shocked. While Tsukiko sat up, blood coming out of her mouth and forehead.

"Hello, Papa," Tsukiko said, getting off the table and standing up. Then her eyes went totally black, before the black went into where her eyes were normally sapphire. He wasn't scared and he went to punch her but she dodged it, faster than she normally was.

"I see your aim hasn't improved," she said in cold, icy voice that wasn't like her normal cheerful one. He then punched her in the stomach but she caught his hand, and made him flip over onto the floor. She then kicked him to his feet, and said, "I don't care where you go, but as long I don't see you, you'll go through a lot less pain."

"I only came to tell you that I got married again," he said.

"There's actually a woman who can put up with you," Tsukiko said in that cold voice, "Well, I don't care now get out!" The look on her face left no room for protesting but it looked like he was going to but he kept his mouth shut and walked out of the house. After he left, her eyes slowly went back to sapphire. When she was back to normal, she looked really sad. She then ran out of the room and out the back door and into the forest, leaving Shigure and Haru shocked, surprised, and confused. Soon after Tsukiko had run out, Haru got up and followed her.

When he got outside, he started calling her name.

"Tsukiko-kun! Tsukiko-kun, where are you?" he shouted. He continued walking while he shouted. He soon came to the bank of a lake and found Tsukiko sitting at its edge with a blank look on her face. He couldn't even tell what she was thinking. As he walked up to her, he said, "Tsukiko-kun, are you all right?"

"I just can't believe that he got married without me," she said, "I guess it's just proof that he never really cared. That to him, I was just a waste of space. That he regretted that I was ever born."

"You're not a waste of space and don't worry about him," Haru said, "You know who your real family is, if you look hard enough."

"Thanks, Haru-kun," Tsukiko said, looking up and smiling at him and he smiled back and helped her to get up and lead her back to the house. As he lead her back to the house, he thought, "I know that there is some reason why that Tsukiko-chan is now possessed by the Horse, and I am going to find it." He cared about her, not just because she was a member of the Zodiac, but because she was his friend and relative and he was very fond of her.

The next day was very peaceful. Tsukiko spent most of her day in the garden with the flowers. The others didn't bother her because they figured that she wanted to be alone. When she did come in, they smiled at her. Shigure was the first to speak to her.

"Tsukiko-kun, Akito wanted me to tell you that you are to come to the Main House for New Years," he said.

"Huh?" was what came out of her mouth.

"He called while you were in the garden. Every year at New Years, the Zodiac has a banquet to celebrate," Shigure said, "The Sohmas possessed by the New Year and the Old Year dance together. He wanted the other members of the Zodiac to remain ignorant that there is a new Horse until then. The members who already know are to keep their mouths shut."

"So, he wants to make a formal announcement, huh," she answered. "I can't even believe that I'm a member of the Zodiac, much less than a distant relative of the Sohmas. I guess I gotta just deal." She thought.

"Where's Haru-kun? Did he go home?" she asked, looking around. Haru had stayed over again and was not in the room when she walked in. He had just left the room to go to the restroom.

"No, he just went to the restroom," Shigure said, surprised that she wasn't putting up a fight.

"Oh," she replied, as Haru walked back into the living room where everyone was sitting. When he looked at Tsukiko and saw that she was smiling, he couldn't help but smile as well. He couldn't believe how she could be so sad one day and cheerful the next. "It's just her personality," he thought as he sat down next to her.

"Having fun, Tsukiko-kun?" he asked.

"Yup!" she said, smiling even brighter. "I think I'm falling in love with her," Haru thought to himself, "She's just so happy and caring to everyone. Even if they're not being so nice to her and she's always smiling. She's so much like her cousin but they're also completely different people." By this time, it was late and Haru had to get home.

"Well, later, gotta get home," he said, getting up and walking out the door. "I gotta be careful, though. If Akito finds out, he'll do something awful to her. Well, I won't let that happen. Just thinking about it makes me angry."

The next few weeks went by without any incident and it was the day of the New Year's banquet at the Sohma Main House. Tsukiko was very nervous. She had never been to anything like this before and she was acting like she was sitting on pins and needles. On Shigure, Yuki, and Tsukiko's way there, Tsukiko was very nervous.

"Calm down, Tsukiko-san. I doubt that it's going to be any fun at all," Yuki said, "I would have decided that I wouldn't go, but I said I would because Honda-san asked me to look after you tonight and make sure that you get home okay."

"It's just I've never been to something like this before and I just, I don't know," Tsukiko said, "I just feel out of place, that's all."

"I don't worry, I'm sure everything will go fine," Shigure said, but that didn't calm her down a bit. When they got there, one of the maids took Tsukiko to see Akito. Once they got her to his door, they opened the door and pushed her in. Akito was sitting in a chair.

"Welcome to the Main House, Tsukiko-san," Akito said, "I am going to tell you what will happen tonight. You will change into another outfit and wait until you are summoned. When you are summoned, I will make the official announcement. Right now, most of the other members do not know about you and it will stay that way until the announcement." He then clapped his hands and a maid appeared, "Take her to the room and help her change," and he left the room.

The maid led her to another room where she found a lovely sky blue summer dress that was made of fine silk and was light and airy. When she was done getting dressed, the maid took her hair and put it in the same style as Flora's enchantix hair syle from Winx Club. When Tsukiko looked at her reflection in the mirror, she couldn't breathe. She didn't even recognize herself. Even without makeup, she didn't look like herself. Then there was a knock on the door, and another maid walked in and said, "Are you ready? The head of the family has summoned you, Miss Honda."

With one last look at her reflection, Tsukiko said, "I am ready," and followed the maid to the banquet room, where she could hear Akito trying to getting everyone's attention. When he finally had their attention, he said, "As you all know, the previous Horse, Isuzu, has passed away and that there is now no one to fill her place. But, there has been a recently discovered distant relative and she is possessed by the Horse. We do not know how, or why, but she is now the Horse and therefore must be acknowledged as one of our relatives. I now introduce her to you, Tsukiko Honda," and the maid that had led her there, pushed Tsukiko through the door, into view of the entire Zodiac. They all gasped at her. After a few moments, Haru came up to her and took her arm and said, "Welcome, Tsukiko-san. May I show you around and introduce you to the rest of the Zodiac?"

"Certainly," she said.

"I am Hatsuharu, year of the Ox," he continued.

"Tsukiko Honda," she replied, hating having to pretend that she didn't know anything. Haru led her over to what she assumed was a young woman.

"Tsukiko-san, this is Ritsu, the year of the Monkey," Haru said, and whispered in her ear, "Ritsu is actually a man, he wears woman's clothing to keep himself calm."

"Nice to meet you, Ritsu-san," Tsukiko said with a smile.

"No, the pleasure is all mine, Tsukiko-san," Ritsu said. Haru then led her over to two younger children.

"These are Hiro, year of the Ram, and Kisa, year of the Tiger," he said.

"It's nice to meet you, both," Tsukiko said.

"Are you Onee-chan's cousin?" Kisa asked.

"You mean Tohru? Yes, I am her cousin," Tsukiko said. Hiro was just standing next to Kisa with a scowl on his face. Haru then led her to a young woman who sat by herself.

"This is Kagura, year of the Boar," Haru said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kagura-san," Tsukiko said, with a smile.

"Likewise," Kagura said. Haru then led her to a man with long white hair.

"Ayame-san, this is Tsukiko-kun, Tsukiko-kun, this is Ayame, year of the Snake," Haru said.

"Nice to meet you, Ayame-san," Tsukiko said with a smile.

"No, no, the pleasure is all mine," Ayame said. Haru then led her over to where Yuki, Shigure, and Hatori were all standing.

"I think you know these guys, but Hatori is the year of the Dragon, Sensei is the year of the Dog, and Yuki is the year of the Rat," he said. Tsukiko gave them all a very bright smile. Then they all got to talking about something, Haru's thoughts were on Tsukiko alone. "I can't believe how beautiful she is. Akito has certainly outdone himself. I wonder why he was so particular about what she was going to wear tonight. Maybe he just wanted her to look nice when he introduced her."

At that moment, a maid tapped on Tsukiko's shoulder. When she turned around, the maid said, "The head of the family told me to give you this. It's the clothes you were wearing when you arrived, Miss. He said that you may keep the dress," and handed her a package and walked off, leaving Tsukiko with a look of pure shock. Later that evening, when Shigure, Yuki, and Tsukiko departed, Haru decided to walk with them. He was going to spend the night at Shigure's house, but he also wanted to spend more time with Tsukiko.

"What about Kyo-kun?" Tsukiko asked Haru.

"You know the legend, right? Well, he is possessed by the spirit of the Cat that was left out of the Zodiac," he answered.

"Wow," was all she could say. Later that night, when Tsukiko was in her room, changing into her pajamas and getting ready for bed, Haru was in Yuki's room, thinking.

"I have to tell her," he thought, "but I'm afraid to, because of Akito's frightful temper. If he finds out, Tsukiko-chan could get seriously hurt because of how I feel about her."

Yuki just walked in from the bathroom and found Haru in complete doom.

"Haru, I think you should tell her," Yuki said, with a smile.

"Huh?" Haru replied.

"You need to tell Tsukiko-san how you feel about her," Yuki said, "You're always encouraging me to call Honda-san by her first name, now I'm encouraging you to be brave and tell the one you love that you love her."

"But I've done that before, and it didn't turn out so good," Haru said.

"You can't just be afraid of taking another chance," Yuki said, "Rin would have wanted you to move on, not grieve for the past. Goodnight," and he went to his bed and went to sleep. Haru, however, stayed awake. He thought about many things but mainly about what to say to Tsukiko. As they both fell asleep that night, Tsukiko and Haru were both thinking, "I have to tell her/him."


	3. Chapter 3

A Broken Heart Never Fails to Heal

A Broken Heart Never Fails to Heal

A Fruits Basket FanFic

By realixweatherfairy

Disclaimer: I own only what I created.

Chapter 3: Confessions of a Teenage Heart

The next few days after the Zodiac Banquet, Tohru, Tsukiko, Haru, and Yuki spent the day together. They went shopping and had a lot of fun. Tsukiko didn't have to borrow any money. Before her mother died, she took many trips to Japan to visit what was left of her family, and while she was there, she created a bank account in Tsukiko's name. She deposited all her life savings, which amounted to 500,000. Tsukiko's maternal grandparents made many deposits into the account and so had her paternal grandfather. To that point, the account now amounted to 900,500.

"Tsukiko-kun, how are you able to do all this?" Haru asked.

"My oka-san's parents still live here in Japan and before she died she visited them often. While she was here, she opened a bank account in my name and deposited all her life savings," Tsukiko answered, "Her parents and my grandfather has made many deposits into my account since she died. Apparently, they wanted me to be able to take care of myself."

"Wow," he said.

"Yeah," she replied with a smile.

While the girls were in a jewelry shop, Tsukiko found a silver chain bracelet with all twelve of the Zodiac symbols on it as charms for 30 yen. It pulled at her heart and she liked it, so she bought it. They went to meet the guys for lunch. When the guys met up with them, they went to McDonald's. Tsukiko bought everyone their lunch.

"Thanks, Tsukiko-chan," Tohru said.

"You're welcome, Tohru-san," Tsukiko said with a smile.

"Yes, thank you, Tsukiko-san," Yuki said. Haru smiled at her and she smiled back at them. They could see how much happier she was now, than when they first met her. Whether or not it was because she was a member of the Zodiac or because she felt more at home, they couldn't tell, but they were happy that she was happy.

While they were out, Haru couldn't stop thinking about how and when he was going to talk to Tsukiko. He was so nervous but he could tell that Tsukiko had things on her mind as well. Then he noticed the bracelet on her wrist. It was the bracelet that she had bought at the jewelry store that day. He smiled.

Later that day after the trio returned to Shigure's house, Tohru was about to fix dinner when Tsukiko suggested that they order a pizza.

"Yeah, why not? A pizza sounds really good," Yuki said while Haru, who was staying the night again, nodded. She smiled and had Shigure go and order the pizza, but making sure that he didn't do anything stupid. Haru was thinking about his feelings for "His Tsukiko" as he liked to think of her.

"Tsukiko-kun, can I talk to you for a minute?" Haru asked.

"Huh? Oh, sure," she said, following Haru out the back door and into the garden. Yuki had been doing well with the flowers, since her first full day in this Sohma House, Tsukiko had learned that the garden was Yuki's life and pride, and that her cousin often helped him. They had allowed her to help them as well. Haru led her to the lake where she had run the day she found out that she had a stepmother.

"Tsukiko-kun, I have to ask you something," Haru said. He was nervous and wasn't very confident at the moment.

"There's something I need to talk to you about," she replied. Without warning, Haru turned around and kissed her. At first she was shocked, but she then started to relax. They kissed for a good three minutes, before they broke apart. Haru looked into Tsukiko's wide eyes that were full of shock and surprise, and smiled as he said, "Don't tell Akito," and took her hand by the wrist and pulled her back into the house.


End file.
